National Geographic Gives Rare Peek Into Vintage Collection

Top archivist says collection contains "pictures of people like us."

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Since he personally oversees the archiving of over eight million images, William Bonner is a very important person within the National Geographic organization. This week, Nat Geo introduced him to the YouTube public and gave the world a peek into an unrivaled treasure trove of imagery that spans the history of the captured image.

In the video, Bonner says that the collection as a whole encompasses more than 11 million images. His vintage portion is the largest chunk, made up of "...one of the largest collections of autochromes that exist in the world." In fact, it includes almost half a million black and white prints.

"We have pictures from the 1870s, we have hand-tinted black-and-white prints," Bonner adds. "I think we have a lot of masterpieces here."

But why take our word for it? Feast your eyeballs on the video itself for a peek into this breathtaking collection:

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Our editors review and recommend products to help you buy the stuff you need. If you make a purchase by clicking one of our links, we may earn a small share of the revenue. Our picks and opinions are independent from any business incentives.

Our editors review and recommend products to help you buy the stuff you need. If you make a purchase by clicking one of our links, we may earn a small share of the revenue. Our picks and opinions are independent from any business incentives.